3D movies and HDTVs are supposed to be the cutting edge. Right now 3D in the home is a bit of a challenge because the displays are new and 3D content landscape is sparse. There is the added cost for 3D glasses needed for most 3D displays. Falling prices and incorporation of 3D support as a standard feature will make 3D viewing more common next year.
There is a little bit of 3D content is available on Blu-ray disks and 3D games but it appears that 3D content may finally be coming out on a regular basis. Set top boxes will soon deliver 3D sports.
I recently spoke with Reed Johnson, President and CEO Tru3D, about 3D technology as well as their solution for Mitsubishi and Samsung DLP HDTVs. Mitsubishi still sells large screen DLP HDTVs while Samsung has discontinued theirs to concentrate on LCD HDTVs.
Wong: 3D HDTVs are now the norm but 3D technology has been around for decades. TRU3D has been on the cutting edge. How have you seen 3D technology change over the years?
Johnson: The biggest change we've seen over the last 5 years is acceptance by the players in the market that they all can not control 100% of the 3D market. When TRU3D began every manufacturer considered their the key component and worked to prevent the market from growing outside of their innovation. Now the suppliers have realized that they have to work together to make 3D happen and consequently have reduced the various barriers to entry erected over the past decade to make complete 3D systems that can handle a variety of signals on a range of displays.
Wong: 3D viewing can be done using passive approaches including the use of polarized or color filer glasses but most of the 3D TVs available now utilize active LCD shutter glasses. Are these all using the same technology and are the glasses interchangeable?
Johnson: 3D Glasses are like keys to your car, each car needs a unique pair of 3D glasses. There is some interchangeability of 3D glasses and Universal 3D glasses are now becoming available from XpanD and Monster. Universal glasses help solve a retailers supply issues but does nothing for a customer who will want to buy eyewear based on its comfort as they define it. Our internal sales data shows that customer will delay purchase if they do not like the comfort or style of the eyewear. Until the display industry realizes that by making brand specific mode
Wong: What are the different types of 3D display formats available and what are their advantages?
Johnson: There are 4 main types of display modes available today, above below, side by side, checkered board and frame sequential. The first 3 formats are full speed but half resolution image modes. Think of a 8x10 photo that you now want to make 3D. A side by side image would be the left sitting to the left of the right image. Because the 8x10 sheet is fixed each image has one-half the horizontal pixels. Above below looks just as it sounds one image above the other and checkerboard looks like a checkered board Red squares left image, black squares right image. Frame sequential is a signal format where each image is full resolution but they alternate left-right-left.... Because we have a fixed band width on cable services they currently can not provide this signal and are providing Above-Below or Side-By-Side. With the exception of PC 3D, all solutions today have the same final video performance.
Wong: What is the difference between 3D-Ready and 3D-Compatible displays?
Johnson: 3D ready and 3D compatible are often swapped around by the different manufacturers so its difficult to pin-down an industry standard. The first displays marketed as 3D-Ready are HDMI 1.3 DLP's released from 2005-2009 and are 3D only for computers. These displays predate the 3D HDMI 1.4 protocol used today by PS3 and 3D Cable companies. Mitsubishi developed a 3D adapter that converts not only the signal to the 3D format it expects but also tricks the 3D cable box or media player into thinking its hooked to a HDMI 1.4 compatible device. Newer Displays use the full 3D HDMI 1.4 protocol and are closer to plug and play 3D but still often face connectivity issues.
Wong: DLP displays that are 3D-Compatible have been available for many years. How does TRU3D turn those HDTVs into 3D
Johnson: Each display has unique requirements and needs to go 3D. TRU3D's goal for each of its solutions is to do the heavy lifting for the customer so in the end they have a simple 3D experience with as little hassle as possible.